The Carbon County Court of Common Pleas has instituted a new juror attendance policy to slow the increasing rate of no-show jurors called to serve in jury trials.

Over the past year, the nonattendance rate for jurors has averaged 20 percent, with a range from 11-33 percent seen on the various dates during this time period."We think a lot stems from people not updating their addresses with the post office and PennDOT," said Greg Armstrong, county court administrator. "People also forget due to life stress. We are very appreciative when people call to explain why they forgot, or if mail is returned to us stating that a person no longer lives there."The juryJury service is a crucial hallmark of providing fair civil and criminal trials.Depending on the number of trials scheduled in any given month, the jury clerk summons between 60-300 people. A certain percentage of the initial group is excused due to valid reasons, including employment issues where an employer certifies in writing that an employee is essential to the operations of a business entity; health reasons that are accompanied with a doctor's note; vacations already planned; doctor appointments that cannot be rescheduled; new employment where a person is in a probationary period; or employment types such as teachers, who are asked to be deferred to summer months, and construction workers, who ask to be deferred to winter months.Armstrong said for deferral requests, it is always helpful that the potential juror offer suggested time frames where they can serve.The remainder of unexcused jurors are expected to report for jury duty on their assigned date.Prospective jurors should plan on being at the courthouse all day for selection, Armstrong said.The number of trials scheduled varies each month, which affects how many jurors are needed. The nature of a trial can make it more difficult to select a panel of jurors too.The new policyDue to the growing problem on nonattendance, the court felt strongly that a new policy was necessary.Drawing on the experience from the Blair County Court of Common Pleas, the new attendance policy was implemented this spring. For example, during the April jury week, nine people did not report for jury duty.Each person received a letter from the jury clerk stating that their nonattendance resulted in their being automatically added to the August jury week.As a result of these letters, one of the jurors who did not appear for the April jury week subsequently called to report that they no longer lived in Pennsylvania.If the remainder of the people from the April jury group fail to report for jury service when summoned, a second letter will be issued by the court to that person, stating their required attendance before one of the common pleas judges to explain their actions.Sanctions by the court are a last resort for those who fail to appear before the court.The courtrequests that all potential jurors who receive jury summons complete and return the forms within 10 days of receipt.The court also requests that a juror who forgets to report on their assigned date immediately call the jury clerk at 570-325-4759.